Tues., Feb. 6th - Wer'e still here!

We are still at the City Marina in Marathon, hoping to leave in the morning headed toward Miami. Weather and work on the boat have caused most of the delay but all is good because we were able to meet up with stepson Nate and his wife Steph who stopped in for a few days in the Keys on their way to Barbados for vacation. I will post a few short stories from our stay in Marathon. Here is the first;

Our car rental experience:
We decided to rent a car the first weekend her to visit Key West and do some major re-provisioning.  The airport is about 3.5 miles away.  On Friday, January 27th, I took the city bus to the airport only to find that I did not have my credit card to finalize the rental.  Tom had misplaced his and borrowed mine the day before and I didn't get it put back in my wallet.  They would not take cash so I had to walk back to the marina for my credit card. Now remember it is 3.5 miles and the temp outside is 80. Tom met me half way on his bike, bringing his card instead of mine. When I got back to the airport, now very hot and sweaty, the gal said she was not supposed to take the card because my name was not on it. I must have looked pretty uncomfortable and as if I was going to explode because she looked at me and said. I think I will make an exception in this case.  The only small car they had left was a red BMW!  A beautiful car but not really a good choice for carrying wood, four golf cart batteries and lots of groceries. To be sure we were very very careful with it!  On Saturday we drove to Key West.  Walked around then settled in at Mallory Square to watch the sunset. About 4:30 the square filled with vendors and street performers. A scene you do not want to miss  if you visit Key West.  Tom and I sat next to a young vendor selling coconuts. He used a machete to chop them open for you to drink the water. The young man recently moved here from Ghana and seemed to enjoy talking with Tom, offering him a free coconut.  I had recently read an article about the health benefits of the coconut water so was anxious to taste it. Not bad. Our evening ended watching the sunset while listening to reggae music. Awesome day!

                                              Fat Freddies frozen drink selection in the keys

                                           One of many street entertainers at Mallory Square

                                                     Entrance to Mallory Square

                                 This entertainer made the most tips because his dog went around, took the dollars
                                 from your hand and put them in the bucket. Everyone just wanted to see the dog
                                 perform thus more money for the entertainer

                               The crowd increased as sunset neared. Of course we ended up sitting next to a
                                couple from Indianapolis - how funny is that.

                                                          Sunset at Mallory Square

                                                       Tom's new friend from Ghana

                                                                  Self explanatory

              This island directly in front of Mallory Square is only accessed by water and is exclusive
             for people such as Arnold S. Oprah and a few other stars and a couple of political figures